Safety-razor-blade-sharpening machine



Aug. 12 1924..

F. A. REYNOLDS SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENING MACHINE Filed March 6, 1922INVENTbR.

I @ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 12, 1924.

unis rams PATENT FLRANK A. REYNOLDS, OF GENEVA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO NONA'K STROPPER COMPANY, INC.

SAFETY-RAZOR-BLADE-SHABPENING MACHINE.

Application filed March 5,

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, FRANK A. REYNoLns, a citizen of the United States,residing at Geneva, in the county of Ontario and State ofNew York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety "RazorBlade-Sharpening Machines, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to a safety razor blade sharpening machine, and hasfor its principal object to afford a simple mechanism for quickly andefiiciently stropping safety razor blades of various types.

A further purpose of the invention is to afiord a construction which ispracticable in every regard, and which can be manufactured at a very lowcost.

An additional purpose of the improvement is to provide an arrangementwhich insures accurately positioning a blade with reference to thesharpening element, leavingnothing to'the skill ofthe operator asidefrom initially positioning and holding the blade and thereafteroperating the sharpeningelement.

Another purpose of the invention is to aiford mechanism that is readilyadaptable to blades of different types, while always maintaining theblade in a predetermined correct position for most efiectivelyperforming the sharpening operation.

An additional objectof the improvement is to afford an arrangement in"which the blade has a tendency to gravitate toward .36 a sharpeningroll, being limited in such movement by positive stop devices, while thenecessary pressure for holding the blade againstthe sharpening roll isimparted by a' very slight thumb action, the devicebeing 40 of suchasize and form that it ca-n'be held in one hand with the thumb of thesame hand positioned to maintain the blade against {the sharpening roll.

Still a further object of the invention is 1.4 to construct themachinein such a manner ,that it canbe readily taken apart for cleaning andeasily reassembled. 7

"To these and other ends, the invention consists in the improvedarrangement and combination of parts that will appear clearly fromthefollowing description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, thenovel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of thespecification.

In the drawing:

1922. Serial No. 541,492.

Figure l is a plan view illustrating a preferred form oft-he invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view' on line 2'2 of Figure1;

Figure '3' is a longitudinal vertical sectional' view on line 33 ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective View of one of the end walls;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the housing, showing theblade support;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a safe y razor blade, of the type forwhich the blade supportshown in Figure 5 is adapted;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a modified form of machine for use with adouble edge blade;

Figure 8 is a similar view with the guard thrown back, and

Figure 9 isa transverse vertical sectional view on line 99 of Figure 7Referring to the construction illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, the devicecomprises a housing consisting of a body portion 1, which is bent uponitself, with its end walls 2 and 3 forming the top and terminatingiii-spaced relation to each other to afford a blade-admitting opening athrough which a blade-has access to the sharpening roll. The endportions 2 and 3 are inclined down Wardly toward the sharpening roll,affording a V-shaped top on the housing, for a purpose that will appearmore clearly presently, and the body portion is held in assembledrelationship by meansof removable end walls '5 having flanges 6, whichoverlie the edges of the body portion, the parts being held together bythe spindle 7 that removably engages the end'walls and is held inposition by a knurled nut 8.

,9 designatesthe sharpening roll which is frictionally or otherwisemounted on the spindle 7 so asto turn therewith, and the spindle 7 ispreferably bent at one end to afford an operating handle 10. Thesharpening roll may be constructed in any desirable way, but ispreferably formed with a solid central core, and an exterior leathercovering, as set forth in co-pending applica tion, Serial No. 506840,filed October 10, 1921.

The blade 11 rests upon the blade support 3, the inclination of thelatter causing the blade to gravitate toward the sharpening roll whenthe machine is held in normal position, and this sliding movement of theblade is limited by suitable stop devices which may be constructed indifferent ways, depending upon the particular form of blade. In thestructure disclosed in Figures 5 1 to 6, the blade support 3 is cut awayto afford flanges 12 bent backwardly upon the body of the blade support,and thereby affording'a gu'ideway in which the blade portion'll slides,while the rear ends of flanges 12 engage the end portions 18 of theblade unit, and thereby hold the blade in a predetermined relationshipto the sharpening roll, as illustrated in Figures land 2.

This relative positioning of the blade to the sharpening roll isdetermined by the angle of inclination of the blade support, and theposition of the stop devices 12, and

is such that when the blade is in its final po- 'sition, and is pressed,slightly toward the 20 sharpening roll, it will assume the'proper Itangential relationship for most effective cooperation with thesharpening roll. The blade" support 3 preferably'terminates at a pointin j uXta-relationship to the sharpening roll, as illustrated in Figure2, and is slightly yieldable inorder to bring the blade against theroll' under pressure. The necessary pressure forthis action is createdby the thumb of the operator, who holds the device in one hand, placingthe thumb of the same 1 handin the V-shaped top of the housing, whereiteasily and comfortably rests. The necessary pressure is readilyafforded by moving the thumbagainst the blade 11 when the latter ispositioned as shown in Figure 1, "and pressing thev thumb. slightlytoward the sharpening roll to obtain whatever tension is desirablebetween the blade and the sharpening roll. The blade is'sharpened 40first onone side, and is then reversed on the blade support to sharpenthe opposite side of the edge. 1 The structure thus far described isadapted more particularly for single edged blades, and those ofconsiderable stiflness, and for blades which are quite flexible, andhave double edges, Iprovide a structure such as illustrated inFi ures"?to 9 inclusive. The

" blade shown in t is embodiment, and designated at 13, is very thin andprovided with openings 14. To accommodate this type, I provide the bladesupport with projecting lugs 15,which pass through the openings 14 andretain the blade in proper; position on the support. In order to protectthe hand of the operator against the rear edge of the 7 blade, I employa guard member 16 which is hinged to the ears 17, and when thrown I tothe position shown in Figure 9, entirely I 6 covers the rear edge of theblade. The

' guard member also performs the additional function of pressing theblade uniformly throughout its entire length against the sharpeningroll; With blades constructed very thin,"if thumb pressure is applieddiedge of the guard member, designated at 18,

contact evenly with the blade throughout its length. In operating thisform of the machine, after the blade 18 positioned and the guard memberadjusted to the position shown in Figure 9, the necessary pressure ishad by placing the thumb against the upper surfaceof the guard member,and forcing 111 lightly against the blade, while at the The same timeturning the sharpening roll. guard member is provided with corrugations19 'on its upper surface, which enable engaging it more readily, eitherduring the sharpening operation, or when throwing the guard back to itsinoperative position when the blade is to be removed, such position ofthe guardbeing illustrated in Figure 8. In order to permit convenientremoval of a blade of this type, the housing is cut away at 20 toprovide an opening which permits a finger to be inserted under the bladeso as to lift the latter off from the projections 15.

While I have described the invention with reference to certain more orless particular embodiments, it is not limited in its application to thedetailed arrangements set forth,

.as other modifications are within the province of my improvement, andthis application is intended to cover any changes or departures comingwithin the intended purposes of the invention or the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A safety razor blade sharpening machine comprising a housing, and asharpening roll journalled in the housing, said housing having aV-shaped top affording oppositely inclined walls with an opening at thecentre to admit a blade against the sharpening roll, one of saidinclined top walls constituting a support for the blade, said V- shapedtop acting to receive the operators thumb and permit pressing the bladeagainst said roll.

2. A safety razor blade sharpening machine comprising a housingincluding removable end walls, a sharpening roll in the housing, aspindle removably engaging said sharpening roll and the end walls of thehousing and acting to retain the sharpening roll and end walls in place,and means for supporting a blade adjacent to the sharpening roll.

8. A safety razor blade sharpening machine comprising a housing, and asharpening roll journalled'in the housing, said housing embodying anintegral body portion bent upon itself with its end portions forming thetop and inclining from opposite sides downwardly toward the sharpeningroll, the extremities of said end portions being spaced from each otherto afford a blade-admitting opening and one of said inclined top wallsaffording a support for a blade, and end walls removably engaging theedges of said body portion and having flanges overlying the same.

L. A safety razor blade sharpening machine comprising a housing, and asharpening roll journalled in the housing, said housing embodying anintegral body portion bent upon itself with its end portions forming thetop and inclining from opposite sides down- Wardly toward the sharpeningroll, the extremities of said end portions being spaced from each otherto afford a blade-admitting opening and one of said inclined top wallsaffording a support for a blade, separate end Walls engaging the edgesof said body portion, and a spindle removably engaging said end wallsand sharpening roll and acting to hold the parts together.

5. A safety razor blade sharpening machine comprising a housing, and asharpening roll journalled in the housing, said housing having aV-shaped top aflording oppositely inclined walls with an opening at thecentre to admit a blade against the sharpening roll, one of saidinclined walls serving to support a blade with its edge against thesharpening roll, and a guard member carried by the housing andpositionable to prevent contact with the outer edge of a blade duringthe sharpening operation, said V-shaped top acting to receive theoperators thumb and permit pressing the blade against said roll.

6. A safety razor blade sharpening machine comprising a housing, and asharpening roll ournalled in the housing, said housing having a V-shapedtop affording oppositely inclined walls With an opening at the centre toadmit a blade against the sharpening roll, one of said inclined wallsserving to support a blade with its edge against the sharpening roll,and a guard member carried by the housing and positionable to preventcontact with the outer edge of a blade during the sharpening operation,said guard member also being operable against the blade so as to exertan equal pressure against the latter throughout its length, said V-shaped top acting to receive the operators thumb and permit pressing theblade against said roll.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. 7

FRANK A. REYNOLDS.

